Zachary Levi flew into theaters in DC's Shazam! back in 2019 to deliver one of the most beloved entries in the DCEU. The festive flick follows 14-year-old Billy Batson as he is chosen by the wizard Shazam as his final champion, granting him immense magical power to protect the world from evil.
Shazam and his super-powered family will soon be back in Fury of the Gods when it arrives in theaters this December. On top of the returning heroic cast, Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu, and Rachel Zegler have all joined the cast as a trio of sisters, the Daughters of Atlas, who will serve as the main villains of the DC sequel.
Later this year, Dwayne Johnson will make his DCEU debut in Black Adam, in which he will play Shazam's most iconic villain. With many wondering whether Warner Bros. is setting the stage for a major crossover down the line, the newest trailer for Fury of the Gods has referenced several Justice League heroes.
Shazam 2 Trailer References Justice League Heroes
The official trailer for Shazam! Fury of the Gods debuted at Warner Bros.' San Diego Comic-Con panel offering the first look at the DC sequel. Zachary Levi's Shazam references Justice League heroes such as Ben Affleck's Batman, Ezra Miller's Flash, and Jason Mamoa's Aquaman, with previous footage to highlight each.
Shazam opened the trailer in a therapy session in which he questioned why he has his powers and what he is "even contributing" to the world.
He pointed out "there's already a superhero with a red suit with a lightning bolt on it" while footage of Ezra Miller's Flash from Justice League played. The actor's face was omitted from the clip amid recent controversy surrounding them.
Shazam gushed over how "Aquaman is literally huge, and he's so manly," with footage playing of Jason Mamoa's DC solo debut.
Levi's DC hero concluded his fanboy moment by referencing Ben Affleck's Dark Knight: "and Batman, so cool."
The full trailer can be seen below:
Shazam 2 Teases DC Crossovers
Warner Bros. has been trying to get a DC Cinematic Universe off the ground for almost ten years, but behind-the-scenes struggles have been hindering progress for some time. Even though the Justice League, Shazam, Black Adam, and the Suicide Squad all exist in the same world, connections have been limited to just references for years now.
By all accounts, that trend appears to continue going into Shazam! Fury of the Gods. The trailer featured Shazam referencing three members of the Justice League, Wonder Woman will reportedly appear in a dream sequence, and his friendship with Superman was already established in his 2019 debut, which may lead to another faceless cameo.
Speaking of faceless cameos, Warner Bros. carefully chose to cut the clip of The Flash featured in the trailer to omit Ezra Miller amid the controversy surrounding them. This may spell trouble for Miller's long-term DC future after The Flash, or perhaps Warner Bros. just wants to keep them out of the limelight until things die down.
The archive footage of the three Justice League heroes probably won't accompany the references to them in Fury of the Gods, but it's always exciting when DC references its wider world. Perhaps after his second solo outing, Levi's Shazam will soon get the chance to play in that larger universe by crossing over with other heroes and villains.
Nonetheless, the DCEU currently remains just as frustratingly disconnected as ever going into its next batch of theatrical releases.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods hits theaters on December 21.
